Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Land => Topic started by: Weaver on April 22, 2015, 06:18:04 AM
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Built this for the 1WkGB over on What If Modellers. My intention is to put it onto a Diorama base with the BAS Skyvan that I built last year.
I'm afraid I don't have a fancy back story worked out for it. Weldon are a fictional British company who make industrial vehicles, including snow cats, and the BAS use them. The yellow crane is based on a pic of a real BAS Nodwell 110c with one just like it. In my head, the explanation is that it was ordered in a hurry from the nearest supplier in Chile, or taken from a yellow machine at Rothera, to replace a broken one and yellow was the only option. They got the spotlight at the same time...
Regrettably, the Minitanks crane, which is a lovely bit of plastic engineering, is no longer as fully articulated as it once was, since paint has closed some of the clearances up too much. I may have a go at fixing this, but I didn't want to risk breaking it right now.
The decals were a last-minute thing: it struck me that if the black roof was to ID the vehicle in the snow, then a number would be a good idea too.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%201.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%201.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%202.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%202.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%203.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Finished%203.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%204.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%204.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%205.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%205.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%206.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%206.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%207.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%207.jpg.html)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%208.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/finished%208.jpg.html)
Model details:
Cab, engine bay, fuel tank, crane jacks : 1/72nd Academy M977 truck
Running gear and lower body : 1/76th Revellobox T-34/76
Tracks : 1/76th Matchbox Panther
Crane : 1/87th Roco Minitanks
Spotlight : unknown 1/35th tank kit
Chassis and load bed : scratchbuilt from Evergreen strip and textured deck plating (unknown manufacturer)
Fuel tank guard and handrail : scratchbuilt from brass rod
Transmission guard : scratchbuilt from Eduard PE mesh
Paints : Humbrol Hu.174 Satin Red, Halfords satin black, Humbrol Hu.24 Trainer Yellow
Decals : Fantasy Printshop Luftwaffe and USAF serials sheets
There's a full build thread over on What If ( http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40415.45.html (http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40415.45.html) ) but here are some highlights:
Inspiration:
(http://www.photo.antarctica.ac.uk/external/guest/photo/large/53616c7465645f5f1bfe8338530c27c34cb1e99c43575df644b815748fd42846)
Donor kits:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Start%20kits.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Start%20kits.jpg.html)
Major sub-assemblies:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Structures%201.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Structures%201.jpg.html)(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/cab%20detached.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/cab%20detached.jpg.html)
There are 60 pieces of Evergreen in the loadbed:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Load%20bed%20composite.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/Load%20bed%20composite.jpg.html)
Ballast, to make the thing sit properly on it's tracks:
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/hws5mp/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/ballast.jpg) (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/hws5mp/media/The%20Whiffery/Snow%20cat/ballast.jpg.html)
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Very nice conversion Harold. Really like what you did with the addition of the crane to replace the folded up parts at the rear of the vehicle.
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Very nice conversion Harold. Really like what you did with the addition of the crane to replace the folded up parts at the rear of the vehicle.
Cheers Jeff.
Yes, it's a real shame Academy didn't go that extra mile and give you at least some articulation on the original crane. It's such a detailed kit anyway, with nearly 100 parts, that it wouldn't have made it that much more complex or expensive.
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Congratulations on winning the one week group build contest at whatifmodelers. Well done!
I love the "snow" background in the photos.
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I followed the build on the Whatif board. It would have been an amazing 1 month long build - even more impressive that it only took you a week. I think the fuel tank looks fine with the overhang and the guard rail is perfect.
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very cool.
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Wow, that is brilliant!
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Too cool! If you hadn't told me the break-down of kits used, I would have thought this was a kit from one of the big injection mold companies. Excellent craftsmanship and you seamlessly pulled all the components together.
I have a seed of an idea to take one of the M4 HST kits and making it a snow cat, thanks for the inspiration!
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Super job !! It looks RW kit mfg. Love the scratch built bed !!
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Very coo
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Too cool! If you hadn't told me the break-down of kits used, I would have thought this was a kit from one of the big injection mold companies. Excellent craftsmanship and you seamlessly pulled all the components together.
I have a seed of an idea to take one of the M4 HST kits and making it a snow cat, thanks for the inspiration!
I hope your M4 HST Snow Cat will be rocking a bulldozer blade :)
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Boy Howdy, that's an effective build! Well done, Weaver!
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Outstanding! :)
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Oh , I love this idea!
I couls just see a militarized version, maybe with the crane recovering a UAV, prior to lifting and positioning on a launch rail. The open back deck offers so many possibilities...theatre SAM, SSM, etc!
GREAT WORK!
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That is eye-wateringly great :) Hot Damn!!
Very cool pic with all the ballast too.